Momentum-transfer card brake

ABSTRACT

A momentum-transfer card brake for use in card- or documenthandling apparatus is described. The momentum-transfer card brake shown, utilizes a mass matched to the mass of the card of documents with which the card brake is associated, with the card brake having an impact means upon which a card in motion empinges. The momentum-transfer card brake is arranged in a housing in a relaxed position, and includes means for stopping the card brake and returning to its relaxed position after impact by a moving card.

United States Patent Inventors Le Roy E. Gerlach Minneapolis, Minn.; Gary B. Woehler, Minneapolis, Minn.

Appl. No. 828,861

Filed May 29, 1969 Patented Jan. 26, 1971 Assignee Sperry Rand Corporation New York, N.Y.

a corporation of Delaware.

MOMENTUM-TRANSFER CARD BRAKE 10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 209/805, 271/86 Int. Cl B65h 31/00 Field of Search 209/805, 110.5; 271/86, 87, 88

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,995,366 8/1961 Maidment 271/86 3,148,879 9/1964 Kistner 271/87 Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles AttorneysThomas J. Nikolai, Kenneth T. Grace and John P.

Dority ABSTRACT: A momentum-transfer card brake for use in cardor document-handling apparatus is described. The momentum-transfer card brake shown, utilizes a mass matched to the mass of the card of documents with which the card brake is associated, with the card brake having an impact means upon which a card in motion empinges. The momentumtransfer card brake is arranged in a housing in a relaxed position, and includes means for stopping the card brake and returning to its relaxed position after impact by a moving card.

conso- DRIVE 3, 557 948 PATENTED JAN26 I97| INVENTORS GARY B. WOEHLER LEROY E. GERLACH BY gMVQ ATTORNEY MOMENTUM-TRANSFER CARD BRAKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to the field of cardand document-handling apparatus. More specifically, it relates to a card-handling device wherein a plurality of end-coded documents are arranged in a stacked side-byside relationship, and are retained on a plurality of retaining pins. Individual ones of the cards or documents are selected by activation of predetermined ones of the retaining pins according to a predetermined code. When the use of a document has been completed, the document or card is returned at a relatively high rate of speed to a position where it can be engaged by the retaining pins. This invention relates specifically to the momentum-transfer card brake utilized for stopping the returning card in a manner to be most advantageous for the card to be returned to the stack.

2. Description of the Prior Art Card-handling apparatus is known to the prior art. Cardbraking mechanisms are also known in the prior art. Such prior art braking mechanisms characteristically have utilized springs or spring-biased members for engaging the card as it is returned, for bringing the card to a halt due to the operation of the spring members. Such devices have an inherent disadvantage in that the momentum of the card is slowed by the operation of the spring member, and is accelerated in the reverse direction as the card stops with the spring in a maximum compressed condition. Such a reverse acceleration results in a problem of card dropout, that is, the card failing to be engaged by the retaining pins. Additionally, there is the disadvantage, when the spring-type card brake is utilized, that due to the reverse acceleration the supporting tabs on the endcoded cards are brought to bear under an accelerating force on the retaining pins, thereby tending to cause damage to the tabs and to severely reduce the useful life of the cards. It is to these deficiencies in the prior art to which the invention is directed.

SUMMARY In summary, this invention relates to a card brake which operates on the principal of momentum-transfer between two bodies, wherein a complete transfer of momentum between an initially moving card and a stationary brake causes the card to be brought to a complete stop while the brake moves on with a momentum equal to that originally possessed by the card. The card thus stopped, is then operated on only by the forces of gravity, for engaging the card-retaining pins, without any acceleration in the reverse direction as is encountered in the spring-type braking mechanism. The momentum-transfer card brake operation is accomplished by selecting the mass of the brake to have a predetermined relationship with the mass of the card.

The primary object, then, of this invention is to provide an improved card-handling system. Yet another object of this invention is to provide an improved card-handling system having a improved card brake mechanism. Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improved card brake mechanism for bringing a moving card to a stop without imparting any reverse-direction acceleration thereto. A further object of this invention, is to provide a card brake operating on the principal of transfer of momentum between a moving body and a stationary body. Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved momentum-transfer card brake for use in a document-handling apparatus wherein a plurality of end-coded documents are retained on a plurality of document-retaining pins in a stacked side-by-side relationship, for minimizing damage to the supporting tabs in the end-coded arrangement due to the absence of reverse acceleration, and minimizing card dropout when cards are being returned to the stacked relationship. These and other more detailed purposes and objectives will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings when taken in light of the description of the preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGv I is an illustrative perspective view of the end-coded arrangement of a card that might be utilized in conjunction with this invention; FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relationship of the end-coded portion of a card with a plurality of card-retaining pins; FIG. 3 diagrammatically illustrates the relationship of a card being returned to a stack and the location of the momentum-transfer card brake; FIG. 4 is a partially broken away side view of the housing and momentum-transfer card brake; and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken at line 5-5 in FIG. 4, and illustrates the relationship of the momentum-transfer card brake within the supporting housing. 7

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 illustrates a partial perspective view of an end-coded document 10 having a width W and a thickness T. The docu ment 10 can be any of several well-known types of documents. for example, punched cards, a magnetic card strip comprised of a plastic-type body having magnetic material coated thereon, or the like. The document I0, has notches l2, 14, I6, and 18 formed in one end thereof. It should be understood that, while four notches are shown, the number is illustrative only, and that manylmore such notches could be used in a practical application. The sides of notches I2 and I6 are unrestricted, thereby indicating that no documents-supporting action is accomplished by these two notches. Notches l4 and 18 have document-supporting tabs 14a and 18a associated therewith respectively. These tabs 14a and 18a operate in conjunction with card-retaining pins to support document I0.

In FIG. 2 there is shown a diagrammatic representation of card 10 supported at tabs 14a and 18a by card-retaining pins 20 and 22, respectively. It can be seen that card-retaining pins 24 and 26 do not support document 10. Therefore, in order to release document 10 from a stack of documents, it would be necessary only to move pins 20 and 22 out of contact with tabs 14a and 18a, respectively, for permitting document 10 to be slipped out of the stack. In the arrangement shown, there is a braking mechanism 30 shown generally in relationship with the end-coded portion of document 10, but out of contact therewith, when document 10 is in the retained position on the card-retaining pins.

In FIG. 3 there is shown a diagrammatic view of a portion of a card-handling apparatus, and illustrates a card-retaining pin 22, and a plurality of cards 10, 32, 34, and 36, which may or may not be supported thereby. It should be understood that the stack of cards would normally include many more than four cards, and that this arrangement is illustrative only. The card brake mechanism 30 is shown mounted to support 38. The pin 22 is rotatably mounted at its ends by mounting members 40 and 42. The coded pin drive 44 operates in response to selection signals from a source (not shown) to cause selected ones of the pins to be rotated as described above for the selection of a desired document. When coded pin drive 44 is properly activated to select the necessary pins for the selection of card 34, the card will be caused to move in the direction of arrow 46 to utilization apparatus (not shown). When a card is caused to be returned to the stack, it will be returned at the end of the pins adjacent support member 38. Each of the pins has a ramp portion 48 for deflecting the returning document 50 outwardly away from the stack before it strikes the brake mechanism 30. A characteristic ramp and pin structure is described in copending application of David A. Tandeski, entitled Retaining Pin and Actuation Apparatus, Ser. No. 828,821, filed May 29, 1969, and otherwise identified as ERA-I790, and assigned to the Assignee of the instant invention. Various forms of drive mechanisms are also shown in the copending application. As document 50 returns to the stack along a path indicated by arrow 52, it will impact card brake 30, and thereby caused to be brought to a stop. When the document 50 has stopped its motion, it will be operated upon only by the forces of gravity and the tabs will be cause to fall back and hook over the appropriate retaining pins. The

nature of the card brake will be discussed below. it should be understood that other known pin arrangements could also be used.

HO. 4 is a side view of the momentum-transfer card brake of this invention, with a portion of the housing 60 broken away for ease of reference, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4 for illustrating the relationship of the housing 60 and the momentumtransfer card brake 62. These FIGS. should be considered in conjunction for a complete understanding of the structural relationship of the momentumtransfer card brake. It can be seen that the housing 60 has a top portion 64, and a pair of parallelly disposed sides 66 and 68. The sides 66 and 68 are mounted on a supporting member 70 housing 60 also has end members 72 and 74 for retaining the momentum-transfer card brake 62 within the housing. The support member 70 has a slot 76 through which the card travels to contact the momentum-transfer card brake 62. A pad 78 is mounted to the top member 64. The pad can be comprised of a resilient material or a spring member for engaging the card brake as it is accelerated upward due to the impact ofa card. This resilient material functions as a cushion for minimizing shock and vibration in the card brake while bringing it to a stop for allowing it to return to its rest position on support member 70. The housing 60 has a length L of approximately the same dimension as the width W of the cards.

The card brake 62 is comprised of an upper member 80 and a pair of side members 82 and 84. The side members 82 and 84 are notched along their length for holding an impact-bearing member 86 therein. The impact-bearing member has a length approximately equal the width W of the cards. The impact-bearing member 86 can characteristically be made of leaf-spring material, and is the portion of the card brake that the cards impact when being brought to a stop. The leaf-spring bearing member 86 cushions the impact of the card as it strikes the mechanism, and transfers the energy from the mov ingcard to the card brake 62. A proper selection of the mass of the card brake 62 characteristically is to select the mass of the card brake substantially equal to the mass of the cards with which the card brake will be utilized. Exact equality of the masses would provide ideal operation when assuming a per fectly elastic collision; however, the material of the impactbearing member 86 differs from the material of the cards, with the result that there will be an imperfect elastic collision. Therefore, the mass of card brake 62 will have to be adjusted slightly to' match the mass of the cards with which the card brake will be used, also, taking into account the differences in materials. These adjustments would be obvious to one skilled in the art. With the proper mass relationships, the card brake 62 will move off with a momentum equal to the momentum originally possessed by a card-impacting bearing member 86, regardless of the initial velocity, and the card motion will be stopped as described above. When stopped, the card will be engaged by the retaining pins and held in the stack. As the card brake 62 moves upwardly in the housing 60 it will impact the pad member 78, and will be brought to a stop. When stopped, the card brake will be returned to its rest position on support member 70 and will be ready to stop the next card as it is returned to the stack. in this mode of operation, it can be seen that there is little or no reverse acceleration imparted to the card due to the operation of the card brake. Accordingly, the returned card can settle back onto the retaining pins without undue force, thereby minimizing the damage to the supporting tabs and avoiding card dropout.

Various adjustment in the dimensions and relationships of the elements of the momentum-transfer card brake will become apparent to those skilled in the art from viewing the foregoing detailed description and the accompanying drawings, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. What is intended, therefore, to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Card brake apparatus for use in card-handling apparatus wherein a plurality of cards are stacked, with each of the cards having a predetermined width and having similar predetermined masses, and wherein individual moving cards are to be stopped and added to the stack, said card brake apparatus comprising: movable brake means having a rest position and arranged for receiving the impact of a moving card, said movable brake means having a mass substantially equal the mass of the card, whereby the momentum of the card is transferred to said movable brake means and the card is stopped while imparting no substantial reverse-direction acceleration to the card; and housing means slidably supporting said movable brake means for returning said brake means to said rest position after impact by the card.

2. Card brake apparatus as in claim I wherein said movable brake means includes impact-bearing means for transferring the momentum of the card to said mass olsaid movable brake means and for cushioning said impact, thereby minimizing impact-damage to a card.

3. Card brake apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said impactbearing means comprises leaf-spring means having a length substantially equal the width of the card.

4. Card brake apparatus as in claim I wherein said movable brake means includes a pair of sidewall members, each of said sidewall members having a slot extending along their length, said sidewall members being parallelly arranged with said slots being oppositely disposed; a top member for joining said sidewall members together; and leaf-spring means fixedly disposed in said slot for receiving said impact of the card and transferring the momentum of the card to said movable brake means.

5. Card brake apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said housing means includes a pair of parallelly arranged sidewalls for slidably engaging said movable brake means, top means for joining said pair of sidewalls, support means mounted on said pair of sidewalls for supporting said movable brake means in said rest position, and resilient stop means mountedon said top means for stopping said movable brake means following impact and transfer of momentum from the moving card.

6. Card brake apparatus for use in card-handling apparatus wherein a plurality of end coded cards are stacked in a sideby-side relationship on a plurality of selectively actuatable card-retaining pins for individual selection of desired ones of the cards by coded actuation of the card-retaining pins, said card brake apparatus including: housing means having a pair of parallelly arranged sides, each of said sides having predetermined length and height dimensions, upper extremities, and lower edge surfaces, top means extending along said length dimension of said sides and joined to said upper extremities, supporting means extending along said length dimension of said sides and joining said lower edge surfaces, said supporting means including a card-receiving slot along said length dimension for receiving the end of a moving card, and stop means mounted intermediate said sides on said top means; and movable brake means slidably disposed in said housing means on said support means and having a length dimension approxi matel y equal the width of the moving card and a mass substantially equal the mass of the moving card, said movable brake means including impact-bearing means mounted in a cooperative relation to said card-receiving slot for receiving the impact of the moving card for transferring the momentum of the moving card to said movable brake means and stopping the moving card without imparting any substantial reversedirection acceleration thereto.

7. Card brake apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said movable brake means includes a pair of sidewall members, each of said sidewall members having a slot extending along their length, said sidewall members being parallelly arranged with said slots being oppositely disposed; top member for joining sidewall members together, and leaf-spring means fixedly disposed in said slots for receiving said impact of the card and transferring the momentum of the card to said movable brake means.

8. Card brake apparatus for use in card-handling equip ment, wherein a plurality of cards are stacked in a side-by-side relationship, each of the cards having an endcoded portion for permitting individual selection of desired ones of the cards for reading or recording thereon, said apparatus including; a plurality of selectively actuatable card-retaining pin means for cooperating with the end-coded portion of the cards for retaining the cards in the stacked relationship; card return means for guiding moving cards to a predetermined portion of said selectively actuatable card-retaining pin means for returning the cards to the stack; and card brake means coupled to said card return means, said card brake means including movable brake means having a rest position and arranged for receiving the impact of a moving card, said movable brake means having a mass substantially equal to the mass of a card, whereby the momentum of the card is transferred to said movable brake means and the card is stopped without imparting substantial reverse-direction acceleration thereto and housing means for slidably supporting said movable brake means, said housing means including a card-receiving slot for cooperating with the end-coded portion of the moving card whereby the stopped cards are positioned to be retained by said selectively actuatable card-retaining pin means.

9. Card brake apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said movable brake means includes a pair of sidewall members, each of said sidewall members having a slot extending along their length, said sidewall members being parallelly arranged with said slots being oppositely disposed; a top member for joining said sidewall members together; and leaf-spring means fixedly disposed in said slots for receiving said impact of the card and transferring momentum of the card to said movable brake means.

10. Card brake apparatus as in claim 9 wherein said housing means includes resilient stop means for stopping said movable brake means following impact and transfer of momentum from the moving card. a 

1. Card brake apparatus for use in card-handling apparatus wherein a plurality of cards are stacked, with each of the cards having a predetermined width and having similar predetermined masses, and wherein individual moving cards are to be stopped and added to the stack, said card brake apparatus comprising: movable brake means having a rest position and arranged for receiving the impact of a moving card, said movable brake means having a mass substantially equal the mass of the card, whereby the momentum of the card is transferred to said movable brake means and the card is stopped while imparting no substantial reverse-direction acceleration to the card; and housing means slidably supporting said movable brake means for returning said brake means to said rest position after impact by the card.
 2. Card brake apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said movable brake means includes impact-bearing means for transferring the momentum of the card to said mass of said movable brake means and for cushioning said impact, thereby minimizing impact-damage to a card.
 3. Card brake apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said impact-bearing means comprises leaf-spring means having a length substantially equal the width of the card.
 4. Card brake apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said movable brake means includes a pair of sidewall members, each of said sidewall members having a slot extending along their length, said sidewall members being parallelly arranged with said slots being oppositely disposed; a top member for joining said sidewall members together; and leaf-spring means fixedly disposed in said slot for receiving said impact of the card and transferring the momentum of the card to said movable brake means.
 5. Card brake apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said housing means includes a pair of parallelly arranged sidewalls for slidably engaging said movable brake means, top means for joining said pair of sidewalls, support means mounted on said pair of sidewalls for supporting said movable brake means in said rest position, and resilient stop means mounted on said top means for stopping said movable brake means following impact and transfer of momentum from the moving card.
 6. Card brake apparatus for use in card-handling apparatus wherein a plurality of end-coded cards are stacked in a side-by-side relationship on a plurality of selectively actuatable card-retaining pins for individual selection of desired ones of thE cards by coded actuation of the card-retaining pins, said card brake apparatus including: housing means having a pair of parallelly arranged sides, each of said sides having predetermined length and height dimensions, upper extremities, and lower edge surfaces, top means extending along said length dimension of said sides and joined to said upper extremities, supporting means extending along said length dimension of said sides and joining said lower edge surfaces, said supporting means including a card-receiving slot along said length dimension for receiving the end of a moving card, and stop means mounted intermediate said sides on said top means; and movable brake means slidably disposed in said housing means on said support means and having a length dimension approximately equal the width of the moving card and a mass substantially equal the mass of the moving card, said movable brake means including impact-bearing means mounted in a cooperative relation to said card-receiving slot for receiving the impact of the moving card for transferring the momentum of the moving card to said movable brake means and stopping the moving card without imparting any substantial reverse-direction acceleration thereto.
 7. Card brake apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said movable brake means includes a pair of sidewall members, each of said sidewall members having a slot extending along their length, said sidewall members being parallelly arranged with said slots being oppositely disposed; top member for joining sidewall members together, and leaf-spring means fixedly disposed in said slots for receiving said impact of the card and transferring the momentum of the card to said movable brake means.
 8. Card brake apparatus for use in card-handling equipment, wherein a plurality of cards are stacked in a side-by-side relationship, each of the cards having an end-coded portion for permitting individual selection of desired ones of the cards for reading or recording thereon, said apparatus including; a plurality of selectively actuatable card-retaining pin means for cooperating with the end-coded portion of the cards for retaining the cards in the stacked relationship; card return means for guiding moving cards to a predetermined portion of said selectively actuatable card-retaining pin means for returning the cards to the stack; and card brake means coupled to said card return means, said card brake means including movable brake means having a rest position and arranged for receiving the impact of a moving card, said movable brake means having a mass substantially equal to the mass of a card, whereby the momentum of the card is transferred to said movable brake means and the card is stopped without imparting substantial reverse-direction acceleration thereto and housing means for slidably supporting said movable brake means, said housing means including a card-receiving slot for cooperating with the end-coded portion of the moving card, whereby the stopped cards are positioned to be retained by said selectively actuatable card-retaining pin means.
 9. Card brake apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said movable brake means includes a pair of sidewall members, each of said sidewall members having a slot extending along their length, said sidewall members being parallelly arranged with said slots being oppositely disposed; a top member for joining said sidewall members together; and leaf-spring means fixedly disposed in said slots for receiving said impact of the card and transferring momentum of the card to said movable brake means.
 10. Card brake apparatus as in claim 9 wherein said housing means includes resilient stop means for stopping said movable brake means following impact and transfer of momentum from the moving card. 